Ch 6

Kenshin, Kaoru and Sanosake all sat together at their evening tea.

"I'm worried about Amaiya. You saw how she was acting sparing with Yahiko. She's never lost to him before in terms of landing attacks." Kaoru stared at her tea, trying to find some picture in it's reflective surface that would solve her queries.

"I went and took a look at her -" Sano began

"Sano! How could you invade her privacy like that?"

"It's for the best. She's hurt. There are bruises all over. It looked like a lot of people beat her pretty badly. And I know badly."

"We need to help her. She's afraid she can't confide in us, similar to the way Miss Megumi acted, that it is." Kenshin looked in the direction of her room, even though he couldn't see it.

"If she's being hurt, we should investigate. She's still a child, almost."

"I think she might disappear in the night, since that's whatever she did last night." It was the only logical way Sano thought she could get hurt, but he was still a little disappointed that she hadn't asked them to help her.

"Then we should keep a watch and follow her." Kaoru looked up from her tea to kenshin, seeking his approval of the plan.

"Then when we find the guys that did this to her, we fight them." Sanosake punched his hand, excited for the possible fight.

"Should we approach her about this?" Kaoru tried again to get Kenshin's thoughts.

"I think that might scare her, and she'll distrust us. We're best to wait and see, I think."

"So we'll take shifts in order to watch her." Sano said, essentially volunteering for first shift.

"I guess privacy isn't an issue when she's being hurt so badly." Kaoru said, twisting her hands. "Should we have the doctor look at her?"

"No, Kenshin was right, if she becomes alert to what we're doing she'll get scared away. We have to wait."

Three days after the original meeting, Amaiya prepared to leave again. After packing everything she could she waited until the night had grown quiet again. The click of a sword assured her that her sword – her father's sword – was at her hip.

After a deep breath, Amaiya swung her bag around her shoulder and left the Kamiya Dojo.

She ran to the shrine and into the thicket that she had met Gokemaru.

"What's this? You've come alone. Now doubt you're planning on meeting your man-slayer here?" A hoarse call came from behind the trees.

Gokemaru came out from behind a tall, thick trunk, a hand on his dirty sword.

"No, Gokemaru. I will no longer be bringing you people to murder."

"What? You're bluffing."

"No, I'm not. I will be your opponent, and I will kill you." She put her hand on her sword, meaning to look as confident as she sounded, and hoping she sounded as confident as she could be.

"Oh please, you're still a whimpy little girl. But I thought you might betray me. Hiroshi! Come here."

From the bushes the rat-man came forward. Wrapped in his unnaturally long arms as a young girl, perhaps about eleven or so. He held a small knife to her throat.

"Hiroshi." Amaiya whispered. He had no smile on his face, no sense of joy, accomplishment, there was nothing in his face that showed he wanted to do this. "Let her go."

"I can't, Amaiya. You have to stop and do what you're told. Don't make me kill her."

"Gokemaru, let her free. I'll make you a deal, snake." though she spoke to Gokemaru, she wouldn't take her eyes off of the the girl's, off of her baby sister's.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"I'll fight you. If I win, you will be dead, or handed over to the police. If you win, I will submit, faithfully, for the rest of my life."

He thought about this for a moment. "No. You've caused me so much trouble, I don't want to keep you around. If I win, you will bow to me as I cut off your head."

She gulped hard faced with the reality of this. Lose and die. Win and free them. Could she really win? Did she have enough skill to take him on? She had to. That's all it came to.

"Agreed. Hiroshi, brother, and Misaki, sister, bear witness to this. If I lose, I don't want any of you to watch. You hear me? I want you to run."

"No, I want you all to watch when I kill her. Let it be known that this is the price you pay for disobedience."

"Dammit, Gokemaru. I will kill you!" She pulled out her sword and rushed to attack him, crouched deep and low to the ground. She went to swipe at his legs, one of her favorite moves.

He dodged by jumping up. It was close, and she adjusted quickly, pointing up the blade. She managed to cut the leg of his pant slightly, but he moved to where it was only a small cut.

He landed behind her and thrust his sword at her back. She managed to bend out of the way, but it was still a close escape. With his free hand he reached out and grabbed onto her hair. She fell, hung only by the black threads on her head. She called out, but used the blade of her sword and shoved it into his boot. He bellowed out, kicking her with his good foot into a tree. She bounced off and tried to cut into him with the blade forward. He dodged again and swung around, giving her a cut from the top of her shoulder to halfway down her torso. She fell, some blood spewing forth. She was on her knees and he strolled up to her, kicking her in the side on the ground.

"Does this mean I win? You can't get up."

"Amaiya!" The little girl yelled.

She tried to crawl up getting back on her knees using her sword as a cane.

"Gokemaru, this is a battle for freedom. I will not lose to you." She got to her feet, shaking, and reset her sword in front of her.

"You are a fool." He grunted, before shooting off again at her. She dodged so it missed her chest, but he managed a deep wound into her right arm. Again she fell with a soft scream. Gokemaru walked around to the front of her. She clutched at her arm as she looked up at him.

"You've lost." and he raised his sword above her head. She bowed her head, closing her eyes so there would be few tears. Gokemaru smiled, then lowered the blade.

It landed against a reverse blade sword.

"Killing people is not okay."

"What? Who are you? I won this kill fair and square, get out of the way!" He tried to push Kenshin away with his sword.

"Kenshin!"

"We're here, too." Amaiya looked back at Sanosake and Kaoru. She could barely make them out because her vision began to blur. She looked back at Kenshin and Gokemaru, unable to make out who was winning. In a shroud of black, Amaiya passed out.